Private Screening is here! Now playing: DevNotes 11.21

This DevNotes, Sydney and Martin sit down to address your feedback and questions. Let's talk Private Screening Game Mode, updates on monster quality of life, and WHERE’S REGGIE?!

First of all, thank you!

We want to thank everyone who participated in the Thrills ‘n’ Chills livestream. We had a great time going live with our community and Rewinders. We heard some great feedback and are planning another event like it in the future *ooooooh*

AND thank you for your patience as we put the finishing touches on our Private Screening Game Mode. We are so excited for you to try it out!

Addressing feedback

We are listening! There has been a ton of feedback and constructive criticism coming through lately and we want you to know we hear and appreciate all of it. That’s why we dedicated this DevNotes to responding to your tweets:

“Me when dead game”
We’ve been hearing this since beta so DON’T PANIC we are far from dead. Hellbent has been making VHS for a long time (over 4 years!) and aren’t worried about blowing up overnight. We're really grateful for the amazing community we’ve build during EA without any marketing and have plans to push our game to a bigger audience the moment we are ready!

“get rid of the rotation store, it doesn’t help anyone”
We get a lot of feedback on our store format- both the daily rotation and the seasonal catalogs. We iterate each time we have a new store collection and will keep trying new systems until we’ve figured out a way that works. Keep the feedback coming!

“Please add a lot of monster changes next week alongside custom games...”
We summoned Jeff for an update on monster gameplay. We’re happy with the response to our latest updates: vending machines, plagues, and scream changes have been a good start to making the monster experience feel more fun.
Right now, we’re internally testing our booster packs which will allow us to release new monster perks and mutations at a quicker pace. Plus look out for discounted monster perks in this patch!

“Hello, there will be a translation of the game to take it to the Spanish-speaking public”
Translations are coming! We have engaged a localization studio and are finalizing our narrative to be translated into several languages.

“Ooh! Nice! I’ll jdut have to jump on VHS--Oh wait.. it’s never going to be on console."
Right now, we are focused on PC but we have plans to come to console in the future.

“Im convinced @VHSTheGame is not into making the game grow with new content but they got that cosmetics game on lock”
Our character team is amazing and we love cosmetics but this does not mean that we aren’t still working on other gameplay content. All of our teams work at different paces and our goal is just to get as much new stuff out as quick as we can!
There is a lot in the works right now and Private Screening will only improve our ability to test new game ideas and game modes alongside the community.

“But the tutorials kind of do a bad job at explaining. Idk, I wanna give VHS the benefit of the doubt and I wanna continue playing, but it is legitimately difficult to get into it.”
We are planning on revamping our tutorial system to make it more fun and informative for new players.
In the meantime, Private Screening will give new players the opportunity to try the game with their friends in a low-pressure situation. Single-player Private Screenings will even let you learn the map and practice skills with the place to yourself.

What’s new?

Private Screening is a big deal for us! It is a feature that you’ve been asking for for quite a while and we are so happy to release it.

• Private Screening games allow you to play solo or in teams as teen or monster on all maps with all weapons, perks and mutation!
  
• The only difference is there will be no progression in Private Screening games so you are still encouraged to play on our original matchmaking game mode.
  
• Read the Patch Notes below for more info on Private Screening!
  

Can we talk about Reggie?

Sydney gives us a refresher on where the Sysop ARG left Reggie. Deathwire stole his spotlight and has him captured somewhere... but Reggie is still out there in the Beyond.

• As for a release date, Reggie will not be escaping his metal prison in November... or 2023... The rest is a mystery.
  
• Fun fact: Reggie is the first teen that we ever made! He is a fan favorite at Hellbent and we are all really excited for you to get to know him when the time comes.
  

Winter Event coming December

We won’t give away any details yet, but we are developing a Winter Event full of seasonal cosmetics, prizes and mini-games. (And maybe you noticed our sponsor's secret seasonal product in the video???)

To end off, we know we responded to criticism today but we really are so grateful for our community and all of the feedback you give us. Positive or negative, we are glad you’re engaging with our game and will continue to be inspired by our players. Thank you!

Patch Notes 1.0.76005

Deathwire DLC Now Available on Steam and Epic Store
As of this patch, new playable characters will no longer be for sale for our premium currency FanBux. Instead, DLC content will be offered for both Flux in-game and for purchase outside of game as DLC on 3rd-party stores (Steam & Epic). Along with this change we've added a Flux compensation system. If players have already purchased items in-game and then acquire a DLC that contains the same items, they will receive equivalent Flux compensation for those items. For example, if someone already purchased Deathwire in-game and then purchase the Deathwire DLC, they will receive Flux equal to the value of Deathwire in the in-game store.

Private Screening
We're excited to announce the release of our Private Screening feature! Players will find it listed in our revised menu by pressing the 'Selected Game Mode' button. This mode allows players to either host their own private lobby for players to join, or join another player's hosted lobby. In addition to using the party system to take their friends into hosted lobbies, players can also invite anyone to join their lobby using a Custom Lobby Code. This is a 6 digit passcode that is unique to each hosted lobby.

Private Screening matches support between 1-5 players. This mode allows the monster to be randomly chosen from among multiple players who have chosen to play as monster or will automatically choose one of the teens to become the monster if no one in the lobby selects the role prior to the start of a match.

Custom lobbies have some special features, including giving players access to all weapons, weapon mods, perks and mutations whether they've been unlocked on the player's account or not. In addition, most prizes are available in unlimited quantities to use in your Private Screening games (note that map votes and point boosting prizes are not available in this mode). The host of the lobby is also able to set custom match settings. This includes the map, as well as optional game modifications such as randomizing perks, mutations, weapon mods, win conditions and whether the monster will remain in voice chat after the match has begun. We will be looking to add additional features to match settings in the future!

Finally, you can use the Private Screening mode to start a match on your own as either a lone teen or monster to explore the game's maps at your leisure.

Please note that progression is disabled in Private Screenings, so players will not be able to level up their characters and weapons, earn Flux or complete movies in this mode.

We hope you enjoy this new way to play Video Horror Society and we would love to hear your feedback!

Monster

• All monsters will now earn a perk discount at the end of every act, analogous to the discounts that teens currently have. Monster perk discounts can be used on any perk, allowing for new perk combinations!
  
• The monster's three pings are now represented by three unique shapes and colors to help the monster player distinguish between them.
  
• Updated several monster emotes to now loop until the player chooses to move.
  

Emotes

• Added sound to the Teen emote The Chiller and the Werewolf emote Chiller Wolf.
  

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue where the RC Flyer could sometimes be hit by the monster from a much greater distance than normal after the RC Flyer fires on it.
  
• Fixed an issue where the camera would sometimes shake for teen players when the monster scream shockwave occurred nearby even if the scream did not reach the teen.
  
• Improved the look of the Smoke Screen smoky camera vignette effect.
  
• A rift in the beyond is forming...